Ledaig 10

The reviewed sample is from a bottle one year opened owned by @Pudge72. Thanks, Pudge

Nose: pungent acrid peat with some accompanying smoke, notes of rubber, with citrus in the background. This is bitter mostly, with some later sweetness. Malt flavours are overshadowed by the peat and smoke. For those who like the bitter flavours this is quite pleasant. Those who cannot accept bitter pungent flavours will find this weird and unappetising. Water softens and homogenises the nose. This nose is very nice with water added. Score: 21.5/25 points

Taste: very vivid sharp peat in the mouth, a potent translation of the nose flavours. Same comments as above on taste preferences apply here too. Water softens and rounds the mouth flavours, bringing out black licorice. Score: 22/25 points

Finish: this just gets more intense and more rubbery into the finish. The peat is mostly bitter with just a slight sweet counterbalance. The finish will polarise even more than the earlier sequential tasting steps. With water the finish is soft, but remains strongly peaty. Score: 21/25 points

Balance: the balance is strongly skewed toward the bitter here. Those who like bitter are likely to like this. Others, not so much. Score: 21/25 points

Total Sequential Score: 85.5 points

Strength: bold, strong flavours throughout. Score: 23/25 points

Quality: very good quality of the flavours, IF you like those particular flavours. Score: 22/25 points

Variety: good variety of flavours, but almost all of the complexity present is from subtle nuances of the peat. The strong peaty flavours make it require effort to find those less aggressive peaty flavours. Score: 20/25 points

Harmony: within the context of its peaty style there is good harmony here. Those who don't like a lot of bitter still won't like it. Score: 21/25 points

Total Non-Sequential Score: 86 points

Comment: if ever a whisky separates those who like bitter elements from those who don't, this is it. This is an enjoyable whisky, but it is not for everyone

1 comments

The Ledaig 10 is quite possibly one of the most inconsistent expressions I've had recently. Feels like every bottle is packing some serious batch variance. As a geek I find it quite interesting but as a casual drinker it can be frustrating.

I've had a stellar 10 (quite ironically at the launch of the 42 and it easily outshined it's senior), some quite poor and everything in between. Your score indicated the median, in my opinion, though I'm not a fan of the bitter...